Posted on
7 May 2025
Read time
1 minute
This paper was lead by Dr Mel Handley (University of Hertfordshire) alongside a team of collaborators from over 6 Universities and a range of health and social care provider organisations, including prof Liz Sampson from ACHA (the MEDAL -Modelling the Experience of Dementia and Long-term conditions Innovation Partnership). More and more people are living with multiple long-term health conditions—and when dementia is one of them, getting support becomes especially complex. This is often because people with dementia rely on a close family member or carer to help them navigate health and care services, forming what’s called a “dyad.”
We reviewed over 60 studies and spoke with people with lived and professional experience to understand what helps these dyads get the support they need. Five key themes emerged: 1) Trust that concerns will be listened to with suitable actions taken, 2) recognition of the dyad as partners in the system, 3) working together to understand and agree acceptable levels of burden and risk, 4) care co-ordination and collaboration for multiple, interacting problems, 5) preparation and support to increase the collective capacity of the dyad to self-manage
Despite this our review found that rigid systems and overwhelming processes still place a heavy burden on families—and can make it harder for professionals to provide truly person-centred care.
You can read the article in full here.
